How Much Does Land Clearing Cost in Fort Worth?

Land clearing costs $1,200 to $8,000 per acre in HomeGuide’s cost guide, depending on property size, terrain, access and vegetation. Angi puts the cost per acre at $500 to $5,600. Its national average, from 2,416 verified projects, is $3,780. How thick the growth is, and whether the stumps come out, decides where a Fort Worth lot lands.

The numbers below come from the national cost guides, and each one carries its publisher’s name. We clear building lots and acreage from Fort Worth’s south side down through Burleson and northern Johnson County. We price land clearing for Fort Worth and Burleson lots at the property, and the estimate is free.

What does land clearing cost per acre and by lot size?

HomeGuide prices land clearing two ways. One set of rows runs by how thick the growth is, per acre. The other runs by how much ground there is. Angi publishes its own figures for most of the same rows, so the two guides sit side by side here.

The size rows show a pattern. HomeGuide says clearing a single acre costs more per acre than clearing five acres. Once the machines are on site, they can work more efficiently across larger ground. So a five-acre tract costs less than five separate one-acre lots in HomeGuide’s numbers.

Angi’s figures run lower than HomeGuide’s on every row where both guides publish one. Most homeowners in Angi’s data pay $1,397 to $6,176. Angi’s state table puts the average cost to clear land in Texas at $3,520.

What makes one Fort Worth lot cost more to clear than another?

HomeGuide names property size, terrain, access and vegetation as the drivers. On lots around Fort Worth and Burleson, these are the ones that move a quote.

Growth. Light brush clears fast, and dense growth takes longer. HomeGuide says dense forests with overlapping canopies and thick underbrush require extensive cutting, removal and disposal. By HomeGuide’s labels, scattered cedar and mesquite on pasture reads as light or moderate clearing. A thick stand of large oaks reads as heavy.

Stumps and roots. On a building lot, the stumps and root balls come out before the pad goes in. Our excavators pull them out of the ground, roots and all. Angi lists stump removal at $100 to $150 per stump, so a lot full of stumps adds up.

Haul-off. HomeGuide says some contractors include disposal in their base price, while others charge separately. Ask how each quote handles the brush before you compare them. On our jobs, brush and stumps load into our own roll-off dumpsters and end-dump trailers, then leave on our trucks.

Access and slope. HomeGuide says property with direct road access and flat entry points costs less to clear. It also says equipment moves slower on hills, and steep slopes may require specialized equipment. On a tight lot in town, our compact Bobcat E88 excavator and skid loaders fit where a big machine cannot.

Rain on clay. Tarrant and Johnson County clay is heavy ground that swells wet and shrinks dry. HomeGuide says wet ground can delay progress and make sites unsafe for heavy equipment. After a soaking rain, we let the clay firm up before the machines go back in.

Hourly billing. Angi says local land clearing pros typically charge $110 to $250 per hour. An hourly quote and a per-acre quote can land in the same place, so compare the totals.

What is the cheapest way to clear land?

The cheapest method depends on what the ground is for. HomeGuide lists brush removal at $800 to $3,000 per acre, a fit for pasture that only needs the brush gone. HomeGuide puts forestry mulching at $500 to $1,000+ per acre. That method grinds vegetation in place, and HomeGuide says it isn’t suitable for building sites.

Keeping the healthy trees is what HomeGuide calls selective clearing. HomeGuide says it costs more per acre but saves money by reducing debris removal. We mark the trees you want kept before the clearing starts.

A building lot needs the stumps and roots out. For complete site clearance before construction, HomeGuide says bulldozers and excavators work well. That method removes everything above and below ground, though it disturbs the soil a great deal. On our jobs, dozer work on brushy acreage pushes the cedar and mesquite out, and excavators pull the root balls.

Can you burn the brush instead of hauling it off?

HomeGuide lists burning as one way to get rid of debris, if local regulations permit. Around Fort Worth, those regulations are tight. TCEQ lists Tarrant and Johnson Counties in a nine-county ozone nonattainment area.

In nonattainment counties, TCEQ’s outdoor burning guide allows burning land clearing brush only when no practical alternative to burning exists. TCEQ counts an alternative as practical when it is economically, technologically, ecologically and logistically viable. The guide lists landfills among those alternatives and notes that Type IV landfills accept brush.

The rule also limits where a burn happens. Land clearing brush can only burn at the site of the clearing. TCEQ says you may not move it to burn somewhere else, even on land you own. Inside city limits there, burning to clear property is not exempt unless a city ordinance permits it.

Any burn that does qualify still has to meet all of TCEQ’s general requirements for outdoor burning. We haul it instead. The brush and stumps leave the site in our dumpsters and trailers.

Which permits does land clearing need in Fort Worth and Burleson?

Inside Fort Worth, the trees come first. The city requires an Urban Forestry Permit before land clearing, unless the ordinance exempts the lot. The same permit covers removing any tree 6 inches or larger in diameter.

Clearing an acre or more also needs a Grading Permit. The city’s grading rules treat clearing and grubbing as land disturbance, the same as grading and excavation. The permit fee is $950 plus $25 per acre. Applying costs $50, and a $16.87 technology fee rides on top.

Fort Worth also offers an optional Early Grading Permit. It allows clearing, grubbing and grading only, with no infrastructure or building construction under it. Fill brought in after the clearing needs an approved Fill Permit from the city before it goes down.

In Burleson, grading work calls for a Notification of Grading, and it has to meet City Ordinance No. B652. Outside city limits in Johnson County, development and floodplain questions go to the county.

Pulling stumps digs into the ground, so the one-call law applies. Texas Utilities Code 251.151 requires notice to the one-call center no later than the 48th hour before excavation begins. Weekends and legal holidays are left out of that count. The law puts that notice on the excavator, so the call goes in before the first root ball comes out.

How long does it take to clear an acre of land?

HomeGuide’s answer runs by lot size and growth. HomeGuide says a small residential lot with light vegetation might take only 1 to 3 days. Heavily forested multi-acre properties can take several weeks, by the same guide. Rain stretches either one.

Machine size changes the pace too. We bring the machine that fits the ground, anything from a compact Bobcat E88 to a Kobelco 350 excavator. Dozers and three skid loaders work alongside them. On a Fort Worth lot that needs an Urban Forestry Permit, the permit comes before the first machine.

What comes after the land is cleared?

HomeGuide says clearing the land is the first step. Before a house goes up, the ground still needs a level home site and grading so it drains. HomeGuide puts leveling or grading a small home site on mostly level land at $2,000 to $5,000 on average. Angi lists grading and leveling at $1,000 to $3,300 among its site preparation costs.

We do the rough grading once the lot is clear with the same machines. Some plans call for a house pad next. We build it to the elevations and specs the builder or engineer gives us.

Clearing and grading also change how rain runs across a lot. Texas Water Code 11.086 says no person may divert or impound surface water that then overflows and damages another property. The plan for the finished grade has to account for that water.

Old sheds and barns on acreage add their own line. Angi says demolishing a shed or a bigger structure on the land adds $4 to $17 per square foot. Our garage, shed and barn teardown cost guide breaks that part down.

How do you get a price for clearing your land?

Every lot clears differently, so we price each one at the property, and the estimate is free. Send the address and tell us what the land is for.

About 20 people work here, backed by decades of demolition and dirt work. Ask for a free land clearing estimate, and we will set a time to see the lot.